Downfall: The Case Against Boeing
Investigators reveal how Boeing’s alleged priority of profit over safety could have contributed to two catastrophic crashes within months of each other.
- Released: 2022-02-09
- Runtime: 89 minutes
- Genre: Documentaries
- Stars: John Fantasia
- Director: Rory Kennedy
Comments
- aymanJohnArtemis - 2 January 2023
300 deaths and no body went to jail !!?
So sad to see the lost of more than 300 people and the sadness and the horrified moments that their families went through. It was just because of Boeing trying to avoid and earn extra thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to not train pilots of the MCAS system. And also putting the single point failure in a very critical system like MCAS to take its information only from one sensor.
The second crash could be easily avoided if the company didn't act selfish and arrogant, when they started blaming the Lion Air Lines and calling them third world country and they didn't maintain the plane well. Also they blamed the pilots. Sadly, the second time also they did the same.
It's so weird to see over 300 deaths because of critical mistakes and nobody was sentenced to jail.
Very good documentary, it explained all details and showed all the necessary information to understand the sources and origins of the problem. - taiaha - 29 April 2022
Almost inevitable
For those of us who work in the aviation industry, this seemed almost inevitable, but not unavoidable. Boeing, aided and abetted by the FAA, has a history of using 'grandfather rights' in certifying new versions of original designs. The 737 is the paramount example. The MAX was certified on the basis that it was essentially an 'upgrade' of the original 1967 model. This is, of course, utter nonsense - like saying that the current Toyota Corolla is an upgrade of the original 1966 model. It is effectively a new aircraft, and should have been subjected to a complete new certification process.
The design alterations meant that the handling characteristics of the MAX were markedly different to previous models. To save money Boeing produced a few lines of software code (MCAS) in the hope that this would mask the differences. It was shoddy work - they even left the meaning of the acronym of MCAS in the flight manual, but without referencing what it actually did.
Even now, the FAA have not required a new certification of the aircraft. This a total abrogation of their responsibilities, and a condemnation of the sway money still has over safety - especially in the USA.
A well researched and presented documentary, with the right balance for those who have little knowledge of the way the aviation industry works - or, in this case, doesn't work.
